The Office of the Civil Defense said it is not yet recommending a declaration of a state of calamity for the entire country due to the El Niño phenomenon. 

“Pagdating ng Abril, mahigit 50 pang mga probinsiya na ang mapapasailalim sa tinatawag na matinding tagtuyot… 82 lang ang probinsiya natin. Mayroong 52 pa o mahigit na probinsiya na, apektado halos buong bansa (When April comes, more than 50 more provinces will be hit by so-called severe drought... we only have 82 provinces. There are 52 or more provinces already, almost the entire country is affected),” OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said in a Saturday news forum. 

Despite this, Nepomuceno said he would not recommend to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that a state of calamity be declared in the entire country amid the impact of the El Niño.

He explained that every province confronts different situations when it comes to addressing drought season.

“Hihintayin natin ang sitwasyon sa bawat probinsiya (We will on the situations in each province),” he said. 

Based on the records, the government has logged some 20 provinces have already experienced the severe effects of the dry spell.

Nepomuceno said the 52 provinces will likely experience a severe drought this March. 

He also cited the recent forecast by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration, that the drought season will possibly worsen by April. 

Meanwhile, the damage caused by El Niño continues to worsen in the agricultural sector in the towns of Mansalay and Bulalacao as confirmed by Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor. 

Dolor said they continue exerting efforts to further mitigate the effects of drought in other towns in the southern part of the province, with heavy equipment already sent to the affected towns. 

Such equipment can be used for excavation to find possible sources of water for irrigation, to save the remaining crops such as rice and onions.

Dolor said the provincial government will also procure additional drilling machines so it can augment the water drilling efforts should the dry spell expand in more areas in the province. 

The provincial agriculture office’s latest report showed that the damage caused by severe drought to crops such as rice, onions, garlic, and other high-value crops has reached over P350 million.

The El Niño also caused a decline in the production of onions in Oriental Mindoro, as well as melons for which the town of Mansalay is known.

The dry spell also affected over 1,649 hectares of crops in the two towns, with some 1,669 farmers having lost their livelihoods.

On the other hand, the Department of Agriculture said there is still an “ample supply of rice” amid the ongoing El Niño phenomenon.